Italy, San Marino and Vatican City added to quarantine list …. but Crete removed

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• Andre Tucker says:

  15 Oct15 October 20:41

  I was planning a trip to Greece over half term, but the covid checks based on your questionnaire answers spooked me a bit. Being locked in a hotel room for x amount of days does not sound like a holiday to me…

  That’s at least my interpretation of what happens, can anybody advise?

  • Mark says:

    15 Oct15 October 22:11

    When we went at the end of August they seemed to be testing relatively few passengers coming off UK flights. That may have changed somewhat now of course. I believe the testing was, and presumably still is, targeted based on the information you provide. Ultimately where-ever you go if you test positive or have had close contact with someone else who does, you’re likely to end up in some form of quarantine whether that is in your hotel room or a designated quarantine facility.

    You obviously need to weight up the risks for yourself. It’s pretty unlikely, especially if you take care not to put yourself at unnecessary risk in the run-up to and during your trip, but clearly in the worst case you won’t enjoy the holiday you’d planned and you could be stuck for an extended stay as you’ll need to be negative to fly home.

    • Andrew says:

      16 Oct16 October 06:37

      Cheers Mark, with a 2 year old running rampant, I think we probably made the reluctant but sensible choice to cancel. 😩

  • GeorgeJ says:

    16 Oct16 October 11:28

    Andre,

    I have been through Athen once and Corfu twice during the last six weeks. At Athens they were doing spot checks though the glance at the questionnaire was too cursory to have been a major factor. Four weeks ago Corfu was busy and no one was being pulled out for testing, however they had pulled most of a plane from Dublin the week before, so a bit hit and miss. However as cases go up expect more tests as they are now getting @ 20-40 positive cases per day at the airports (about ten percent of their total).
    If you are really concerned, test before you go (or stay home).

• Fraser says:

  15 Oct15 October 20:51

  Not free to travel until November and then can’t see any flights without 2 connections.

  Have to wonder about who is flying back directly from the Vatican and having to quarantine though?!

  • mr_jetlag says:

    15 Oct15 October 20:55

    The Vatican has a heliport!

    • Andrew says:

      15 Oct15 October 23:10

      I think that’s only used by the Pope, not people wanting a mini break to Rome but avoiding quarantine!

  • TGLoyalty says:

    15 Oct15 October 21:15

    You could drive back without mixing with people and not quarantine too

    • TGLoyalty says:

      15 Oct15 October 21:28

      Obviously if it was still on the exemption list! Or even a train as long as no one got on or off then back on.

    • John says:

      16 Oct16 October 04:47

      So basically only applicable to a hypothetical Catholic priest as anyone else would have been to Italy in the past 14 days

  • Mikeact says:

    16 Oct16 October 08:46

    Virgin news has been very quiet lately over here, unlike Australia where the new owners, Bain, are creating massive problems for them, not least having just dumped their CEO Paul Scurrah..massive cost cutting, it sadly just goes on and on.
    It’s pretty obvious that Bain will cut it to the bone, sell up with a hefty profit and move on.

• Nick says:

  15 Oct15 October 22:53

  Bets on whether Crete will go back on before (or during) half term… to thwart Rob’s plans of finding anywhere other than Norfolk…?

  • Andrew says:

    15 Oct15 October 23:13

    Even travelling within the U.K. could be banned by then!

  • TGLoyalty says:

    15 Oct15 October 23:39

    Those in Tier 2, like Rob, or Tier 3 are already advised not to travel 🙂

    Iooking at my local area I won’t be far behind in Tier 2 so I’ll be sure not to plan any trips to Wales!

    • Harry T says:

      16 Oct16 October 07:44

      I think tier 2 are allowed to travel? Tier 3 are advised they shouldn’t. All seems quite woolly.

      • Anna says:

        16 Oct16 October 08:27

        Travel is advisory in England but there are separate rules about who can enter Wales (and possibly Scotland soon!)

      • PerkyPat says:

        16 Oct16 October 09:13

        Tier 2 you can go on holiday with the person(s) you live with.

• L88 says:

  16 Oct16 October 00:51

  Here in Crete minimal cases, most tourist places closed for season local places all open as usual, albeit bars till midnight as curfew still applies. Few weeks overdue being removed from quarantine list hence why most places closed for season. But its 30 degrees and beaches empty. Good time to come.

• Hugh says:

  16 Oct16 October 08:34

  I spent the first half of October in Italy, having driven from the UK (one overnight stay in Germany) as apparently the most Covid-proof method. For the return, no ‘transit stops’ ended up meaning no coffee on the way through Switzerland and France, fill-ups only via pay at pump and avoiding motorway service areas. Looks like I made it back just in time. Still very glad to have had the break.

• VinZ says:

  16 Oct16 October 09:54

  Funny how in Italy, with same population of the UK, they’ve been testing pretty much everybody (if you land at Fiumicino they’ll take your temperature 2/3 times and do a rapid test if coming from countries at high risk) and finding so many infected with no symptoms at all, yet they have a third of the infections compared to the UK, where to get a test you have to hope for a miracle or have a very deep pocket and go private.
  Still, Italy is now out of the exempt list…

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.